The Ancient Way

Worship Given by God

This worship was not invented by man or developed over time through human tradition. It was given by God and lived by Adam. It is the pattern by which God's children draw near to Him, and it has never been replaced.

As generations passed, this worship was preserved by the faithful and neglected by the careless. When families kept the ancient order, they remained close to God. When they abandoned it—substituting convenience for covenant, tradition for revelation, or isolation for family unity—they drifted from Him.

The history of God's people is marked by this pattern: remembrance brings nearness; forgetfulness brings distance. In every age, returning to God has meant returning to the worship He gave Adam.

The goal of this worship is not performance or tradition. It is to know God—to draw near to Him through prayer, revelation, sacrifice, and covenant until He draws near in return. As families worship together in the ancient order, they prepare themselves to receive what Enoch's people received: the presence of God Himself, dwelling among them, making them His own.

Family as God Established It

This worship is centered in the family, and family is understood as God established it through Adam—not as the world now defines it. A family is not merely a father, mother, and their children living apart from all others.

In God's order, family is patriarchal and inclusive. It begins with a father and mother and their children, but it extends outward to include sons and their wives, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all who share the lineage. It also welcomes those who have no family with whom to worship—those who have turned to God while their own relatives have not, or who have been rejected for choosing to follow Him.

These are brought into the family and worship alongside it, for no one who seeks God should be left to seek Him alone.

Gathering as Extended Families

In an ideal expression of this order, extended families gather regularly to worship together. There is a place for personal worship, for the worship of a single household, and for the worship of the larger family. Each has its purpose. But the greater unity comes when families of the same lineage—or those joined to them by faith—come together in harmony, seeking God with one heart and one mind.

This is how Zion begins.

Enoch and the City of Zion

Enoch understood this. When he went forth to preach repentance, he was not calling strangers to an unfamiliar religion. He was calling family back to the worship of their father Adam, who was still alive in his day. All who lived knew they were descended from Adam, though not all chose to follow the God of Adam.

Those who heard Enoch and repented did not merely adopt a set of beliefs—they joined themselves to Enoch's household. They became part of his extended family, dwelling together, worshiping together, and living in righteousness according to the ancient order.

In time, they became of one heart and one mind, and God came to dwell among them. This is Zion: not an institution or a location, but a family aligned with heaven.

What happened with Enoch was not a singular event locked in the past. It is the pattern for all who desire to know God and dwell with Him. A family that learns to receive revelation together, that keeps the feasts together, that grows in unity through patience and practice—this family is being prepared to receive God Himself.

Two Ways: Zion and Babylon

From the days of Adam until now, there have always been two ways. The first is the Way of Adam—what we might call Zion. The second is the Way of Cain—what became Babylon.

The Way of Adam (Zion)

When Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, he did not go and build a city with all that comes with it. Instead, he lived upon the land, cultivating the soil and caring for the animals. He taught his children to do the same, and he also instructed them in how to worship God so they might become like Him.

There was no buying or selling of property, for the land was not owned but shared. Adam and his children understood that they held a stewardship—to care for the earth and all that was in it.

The Way of Cain (Babylon)

When Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, he built the first city. This city was more than a shelter—it was the beginning of power and control. No longer would men share freely of the earth's abundance, but Cain began to divide the land into portions, marking boundaries and claiming mastery over the ground.

What God had given for stewardship, Cain seized for possession. From this seed of ownership grew envy, rivalry, and strife.

The choice between Zion and Babylon faces every generation. It is the same decision set before us today—the difference between stewardship and possession, between faith and pride, between family covenant and institutional control.

The Line of Preservation

The ancient pattern was preserved through faithful families: from Adam to Seth, from Seth to Enoch, from Enoch through Methuselah and Lamech to Noah. After the flood, Noah continued the same pattern—living on the land, offering sacrifices, teaching his children.

But rebellion arose again. Ham departed, and from his line came Nimrod, who built Babel—Babylon. The pattern of Cain repeated. Yet God preserved a remnant.

Abraham was called out of Babylon to restore God's kingdom and establish a people set apart. His journey out of Babylon unfolded across many years. He lived as a sojourner, pitching his tent in the land of promise yet owning no city. Wherever he went, he built an altar to the Lord and called upon His name.

In Abraham we see the way of obedience, the way of faith, the way of leaving Babylon behind to inherit the kingdom of God. The same pattern. The same choice. The same invitation that stands before us today.